1. Which laws are on BC Laws ?

On BC Laws you will find every public Act, and every regulation of general public
interest, currently in force in the province of British Columbia, including new and
recently amended laws that have yet to be published in official print formats. This
current consolidation is an unofficial version of B.C. Statutes and Regulations.

2. How current is the data on BC Laws.ca ?

3. What is a consolidation ?

A consolidated Act or regulation is one in which the substance of any amendments has
been blended into the original.

A "consolidation" refers to a collection of consolidated Acts or regulations that
have been enacted or amended during a given time period, and are then published. The
published consolidations are identified by a cut-off date and a consolidation number,
also referred to as an amendment number (statutes) or instalment number (regulations).

4. Is there a user guide available for the Table of Legislative Changes ?

5. How do I find the law I need ?

The laws are listed alphabetically by Act name. Regulations are listed under the Act
that authorizes them. Click on the letters of the alphabet to browse through the Acts.
Click on the Act title to open the folder. Click on the document title to view the
document. To return to the list of statutes or the BC Laws home page, use the browser
"back" arrow or click on the breadcrumb navigation links at the top of the page, e.g.
"BC Laws Home > Statutes and Regulations>.

Quick Search:To perform a quick search of all laws in the statutes and regulations collection,
enter a search term in the search field; then, click on the search button (or hit
the "Enter" key on your keyboard). To restrict a search to the Acts listed under a
particular letter of the alphabet, select the collection, e.g. "B" collection, and
perform a quick search. To restrict a search to the documents listed under a particular
Act (e.g. Act, Point in Time, Table of Legislative Changes, or Regulations), select
the Act folder and perform a quick search. To search the regulations under the Act,
select the regulations folder and perform a quick search.

Advanced Searches:To perform an advanced search, click on the
Advancedsearch button and select from the following search options:
Advanced,
Booleanor
Fieldsearch. The advanced searches can be performed on the entire collection or on the
level currently selected, e.g. "letter B collection" level.
The
Fieldsearch can be performed on documents published in XML format and allow you to narrow
your search to specific areas of a document, e.g. search by chapter number. XML collections
include: Statutes and Regulations, Table of Legislative Changes, Historical Tables,
Supplements, and Point in Time tables.

6. What does the green underlined text in some of the Acts signify ?

Recent amendments to an Act are shown in green underlined text to make it easy to
find what has changed. When the current consolidation reaches its cut-off date and
is archived, a new consolidation is published in regular text format with all the
amendments from the previous consolidation blended in. Any subsequent amendments are
shown in green underlined text.

7. What is the "official" version of B.C. Statutes and Regulations ?

The official version refers to the official print versions of the statutes and regulations
published by the Queen's Printer under the authority of the Queen's Printer Act and
the Regulations Act. Official versions are published in these formats:

Annual Bound Statutes:a hardcover publication containing all new public and private Acts and Amendment Acts
that have come into force during the calendar year.

Statute consolidations:a looseleaf publication printed on watermarked paper, containing all new public Acts
and amendments enacted during a legislative session.

Regulation consolidations:a looseleaf publication printed on watermarked paper approximately every four months,
containing new regulations and amendments enacted during the four-month period.

Individual consolidated statutes and regulations:printed on watermarked paper, with any amendments blended into the original.

8. What do the dates at the top of an Act refer to ?

The "Assented to" date at the top of some public Acts (usually those enacted after
the latest Revision) refers to the date of Royal Assent. Unless an Act contains a
stated effective date, or a provision requiring that it be brought into force by regulation,
it comes into force on the day Royal Assent is given.

The year of enactment appears below the Act title; for instance, S.B.C. 2003 (Statutes
of British Columbia) or R.S.B.C. 1996 (Revised Statutes of British Columbia).

9. What do the dates at the top of a regulation refer to ?

The deposit date at the top of most regulations indicates the date the regulation
was filed with the Registrar of Regulations. Unless there is a stated "effective date"
below the deposit date, the regulation comes into force on the date of deposit.

In regulations that have been amended since the previous consolidation was published,
there is a note under the regulation title in this format: [includes amendments up
to B.C. Reg. 304/2008, October 31, 2008]; which provides the number of the most recent
amending regulation and the effective date for the amendment.

10. What does repeal mean? What does spent mean ?

When laws are repealed they are no longer in force and cease to be the law. Statutes
and Regulations can be repealed; repealed and replaced by another statute or regulation
with a different title; or renamed. They can also have built-in expiry provisions,
or be enacted for a specific period, after which they are considered to be spent without
the need for repeal. If the Act under which a regulation is authorized is no longer
in force then the regulation expires, unless a replacement Act with similar authority
takes its place.

12. How can I find out if a regulation has been repealed ?

13. How can I find out which provisions in an Act have been amended ?

On BC Laws, a Table of Legislative Changes (TLC) accompanies Acts which have been
amended. The TLC lists all amendments made to an individual Act by section, including
citations and the date on which an amendment comes into force. The TLC is found in
the Act folder. A cumulative Table of Legislative Changes is published in the Annual
Bound Statutes.

16. Where can I find the wording of a Regulation prior to an amendment ?

17. Are government forms available on BC Laws ?

BC Laws contains only those forms that comprise part of a regulation. If a regulation
contains forms, they will usually be found at the end of the regulation. You must
print out the forms to use them. They cannot be filled in or submitted online.

18. Are statutes and regulations protected by copyright?

In support of the British Columbia government's Open Data Policy, BC Laws delivers
expanded content and open access to the data published on the site. All documents
on BC Laws are now published under a permissible license, which allows commercial
and non-commercial access to, and use of, the legislative materials on the site (please
check the license
hereas some restrictions apply).

21. Can I purchase print copies of legislation ?

Annual Bound Statutes:Buckram Bound hardcover. After the end of each calendar year, the Queen's Printer
publishes an official hardcover version of all new Acts and Amendment Acts, both public
and private, that were enacted during the year. In the case of private Acts, the hardcover
edition is likely the final publication, since most private Acts are rarely consolidated
or revised.

The hardcover version includes: all public and private Acts and Amendment Acts that
have come into force during a calendar year; cumulative Tables of Legislative Changes;
and cross-referencing for Bill numbers and Chapter numbers.

Statute Consolidations:Printed on looseleaf watermarked paper. After the end of each legislative session
(usually twice per year), all new public Acts and amendments to existing Acts are
published by the Queen's Printer in looseleaf format on watermarked paper. The consolidation
is assigned an "amendment" number and cut-off date for publication. Often referred
to as "the looseleaf", the consolidated statutes are formatted for insertion into
the binder volumes of the most recent Statute Revision, so that the statutes may be
kept up-to-date.

The Statute Consolidations include: all new public Acts and amendments to existing
Acts that are in force at the cut-off date, with amendments blended into the original
text (consolidated); and Tables of Legislative Changes.

Individual consolidated Acts:Printed on watermarked paper. Includes: the entire Act with any amendments blended
in; Supplement (if applicable); and a Table of Legislative Changes which includes
details of any amendments that come into force after publication of the consolidated
Act.

Regulation Consolidations:Printed on looseleaf watermarked paper. Every four months, approximately, new regulations
of general public interest and amendments to existing regulations are published by
the Queen's Printer in looseleaf format on watermarked paper. Any amendments are blended
into the original text (consolidated). The publication is formatted for insertion
into the binder volumes of the Consolidated Regulations of British Columbia.

The Regulation Consolidations include: all new regulations of general public interest
and amendments to existing regulations that are in force at the consolidation cut-off
date; historical notes to keep track of changes; and a statute-regulation title concordance
for determining which Act has authority for the regulation.

Individual consolidated regulations:Printed on watermarked paper. Includes: the entire regulation with any amendments
blended in; historical notes; plus details of any amendments that come into force
after publication of the consolidated regulation.

OTHER PUBLICATIONSUnder the Regulations Act, regulations must be published in Part II of The British
Columbia Gazette, which is published in print format every two weeks, and is available
from
Crown Publications, Queen's Printer. The Gazette is also published online at
QP LegalEze.

24. Which browser is the site best viewed with?

25. How can I create a bookmark link to an Act or regulation, and ensure the link
will remain active ?

Start by opening the document you wish to bookmark. Use the browser's "Bookmark" or
"Favourites" feature to add the document to your bookmarks. When you use the bookmark
to open a statute or regulation on BC Laws, if the content has been updated with amendments,
the page will automatically be refreshed.to include the amendments.

26. I am unable to view the site, what should I do ?

You can try the following to ensure the cookies are enabled on your browser:

Internet Explorer version 8+

From the menu bar select Tools, and choose Internet Options from the drop down menu.

In the Internet Options dialogue, click on the
Privacytab.

In the Privacy page, click on the
Advancedbutton.

In the Advanced Privacy Settings dialogue, in the Cookies section, check the "Override
automatic cookie handling" box, and check the "Always accept session cookies" box.
Click on the
OKbutton.

Restart Internet Explorer.

Firefox 28.0+

From the menu bar select
Tools, and choose
Optionsfrom the drop down menu.

In the Options dialogue, select the “Privacy” options.
In the “History” section, after “Firefox will”, select
Remember historyfrom the menu. Click on the
OKbutton.

Restart Firefox.

Chrome version 33+All cookies are allowed by default in Chrome. To adjust this setting:

Click on Chrome menu icon on the browser toolbar.

Select
Settings.

Click
Show advanced settings.

In the “Privacy” section, click the
Content settingsbutton.

In the “Cookies” section, you can change the cookies settings.
Make sure "Allow local data to be set" is selected to allow both first-party and third-party
cookies. If you only want to accept first-party cookies, select the "Block third-party
cookies and site data" checkbox.

27. What is the Queen’s Printer?

The Queen's Printer was established in 1859 to serve as printer of government publications
for the territory that has since become the province of British Columbia. Today, the
Queen's Printer continues to publish the official versions of B.C. Statutes and Regulations,
and related publications such as The B.C. Gazette. The Queen's Printer also provides
publishing, distribution and printing services to government ministries, the public
sector and publicly-funded authors and agencies. Popular electronic publications published
by the Queen's Printer include the BC Laws website, and British Columbia Building
Code.

28. What is Crown Publications, Queen's Printer ?

Crown Publications, Queen's Printer is the provincial government online bookstore for British Columbia.
Crown Publications(formerly Crown Publications, Inc.) provides public access to many print and electronic
publications from the B.C. Government, public sector organizations and publicly-funded
authors and agencies.
Crown Publicationsis also the official distributor of the British Columbia Statutes and Regulations,
The B.C. Gazette and other legislative materials, including some federal publications.

Publications are available through the online bookstore, at
www.crownpub.bc.ca, Telephone: 1 800 663-6105 or 250 387-6409.

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and containing this
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Search Syntax Summary

Operator

Example

Result

OR

travel agent
travel OR agent
travel || agent

Finds documents that contain either the word travel or the word agent or both

OR with phrases

"travel agent" travel

Finds documents that contain the phrase travel agent or the word travel or both

AND

travel AND agent
travel agent

Finds documents that contain both the word travel and the word agent

AND with phrases

"travel agent" AND "travel services"
travel agent" "travel services

Finds documents that contain both the phrase travel agent and the phrase travel services

+ required

+ safety water

Finds documents that must contain the word safety (the term after the + symbol) and
may contain the word water

NOT

drinking water NOT municipal
drinking water - municipal

Finds documents that contain the word drinking and the word water but not the word
municipal

NOT with phrase

charter NOT "Vancouver Charter"
charter - "Vancouver Charter"

Finds documents that contain the word charter but not the phrase Vancouver Charter

Exact phrase

"workers compensation board"

Finds documents that contain the phrase workers compensation board

Single character wildcard

wom?n
th??

Finds documents that contain the words woman, women Finds document with this, that
them, they, than

Finds documents with security and the word tax within 10 words, in the order given

Unordered Proximity search

"corporate tax”~10

Finds documents that contain the word corporate and the word tax within 10 words,
in any order

Grouping

(charter OR bylaw) AND police

Finds documents that contain either the word charter or the word bylaw and the word
police

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Regulation Point in Time

Query terms:

Field:

Field Search Examples

Results of search: acts or regulations that contain the word "trailer" only in the
quoted term of a definition.

Results of search: acts or regulations that contain the word municipality only in
the bold headings preceding each section.

Results of search: all acts that contain amendments highlighted in green. (Note: text
hightlighted in green are amendments to the Statutes that have come into force since
the last official consolidation.)